Cigar-lighter for attachment to automobiles and the like.



, M; G. SOHWAB.

CIGAR LIGHTER FOR ATTACHMENT TO AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1918.

p 53 a a 'Ea'tented Dec. 15, 191 2.

INVEN TORI 1? TNESS S/ nimran MARTIN C. SCHWAB, E CHICAGG, ILLKNGKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

LIKE.

Dec. 15, rare.

Application filed Heron 24, 1913. Serial No. 756,592.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN C. Sonwas, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Cigar-Lighters for Attachment to Automobiles and the like, of which the following is a specification. My chief aim and object is to provide a cigar lighter which is particularly adapted for attachment to automobiles and other vehicles and which willenable the driver operator to conveniently light his cigar without removing his hands, or, in fact, either of them, from the steering wheel or other steering device so as to leave it free to move at random; and while, as stated, my

chief aim is to provide a cigar lighter of this character for use on automobiles, still is to be understood that a cigar lighter constructed in accordance with the invention may be used. in other situations where it is desirable to withdraw the lighter so that it willbe out ofthe way when not in actual use.

"With these thin s the invention, broa ly stated, is to provide a cigar lighter having ani i iter and a movable carrier therefor, suite is mechanism be- 1 it will be automatically retracted and the lg-inter drawn into an out-of-the-way posion or situation.-

A minor object of the invention is to associate a lighter having these characteristics with the steering wheel or other steering device of an automobile or the like.

Still another minor object of the invention is to accomplish the retracting of the igniter and its carrier automatically; and still a further minor object of the invention is to provide electrically operated -mechanism whereby all of the several operations or steps of the operation in carrying the invention into efi'ect may be brought about by the simple act of operating a push button.

To these ends the invention, in its broadest aspect, consists in a cigarlighter having an igniter of such character that it will give out sufficient'heat to light a cigar, a carrier for said igniter, means for projecting the carrier so as to bring the igniter into position for convenient reach by the end of a cigar held in the mouth and means in view one object of shell or casing of an electromagnet 'any desired number of pole pieces, i, ng provided for so moving the carrier that for retracting the carrier when the ligh er is not in actual use and storing it in an out of the way place.

The invention consists also in the features of novelty that are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying. drawing which is made a part of this specification and in which- Figure 1 is an elevation on a small scale of the steering wheel of an automobile, and accessories, showing the relation thereto one of the improved cigar lighters. Fig. is an enlarged sectional elevation of a cigar lighter embodying the invention, the section being taken-in an axial plane of the steering wheel.

The steering wheel of an automobile is represented by the numeral 1. So far as the present invention is concerned, itmay be of customary construction and connected with the steering wheelsof thecar by any suitable means. As shown in the drawing it is non-rotatively secured to a hollow or tubular shaft, 2, which is contained within an outer tubular shell or casing, 3, by which it is sustained laterally. The hollow shaft, 2, constitutes in en ect and in fact the outer having and coils, 5, all of the pole pieces being in elec trical connection, as through the tube 2, or

otherwise, while each of the several coils is separate and complete in itself. The sev eral coils are arranged around a tube, 6, by which they are'held intact and which forms a guide for an armature, 7, which is common to all of the electric magnets thus formed. Assuming the bore of the tube, 6, to be circular the armature, 7, is cylindrical, so that it may slide freely therein and be guided thereby. The armature carries a rod or stem, 8, and this rod in turn carries at its upper end a cup, 9, in which is arranged the igniter, or lighter proper, which, in the instance shown in .the drawing consists of a coil, 10, of platinum wire, which rests upon or is embedded in a body, 11, which may be of asbestos or other non-conducting material. Qne end of the coil, 10, which is in fact the igniter and adapted when electrically charged to throw ofi' sulii- 'is surrounded by an insulated sleeve, 12,

55 ing wheel, far enough to bring the carrier 9 made. of conducting material. The rod is electrically connected with the armature 7, and the armature is adapted to contact in sl1CCSSlO11.Wltl1 a series of spring-pressed pins, 13, each of which is electrically connected with one end of one of the coils, 5, by any suitable means, as, for example, through insulated plate springs, 14, or any other suitable insulated electric conductor, there being one of these spring-pressed pins, electrically connected up as just described for each of the coils. The end of the coil opposite the connection 14 is in electrical connection with the battery B, and this electrical connection may be accomplished in any desired manner. In the drawing, one pole of the battery is shown as being connected with the "tubular shell, 3, by a conductor, 15, while the other pole is connected by a conductor .16, with a spring contact 17, which bears constantly against the periphery of an insulated-ring, 18, carried by the hollow steering tube, 2, the ring 18 being electrically connected with one of the several pole pieces, 4:, by an insulated conductor, 19.

A push button, 20, is secured to some part of the steering wheel, 1, so as to be within convenient reach of the driver. One member, 21, of the push button has electrical contact with an insulated containing shell, 22. while the other member, 23, has electrical connection through a conductor, 24, with a conducting sleeve, 25, passing through a central opening through the hub, 26, of the steering wheel, and suitably insulated therefrom, said sleeve, 25, being in electrical connection with the insulated sleeve 12. Ihe insulated containing shell, 22, is electrically connected with the steering wheel through a conductor, 27, or is otherwise electrically connected therewith.

With this arrangement, when the movable member 21 of the push. button is forced down the circuit from the battery is closed through all of the several coils of the electromagnet in succession, as will appear hereinafter and also through the igniting coil, 10. As the result of the closing of the circuit through the coils of the electromagnet, the armature, 7, will be attracted and moved in the direction that forces the rod 8 out and away from the electromagnet and this causes the rod 8 to project from the upper end of the steering tube, or above the steerwithin convenient reach so that the driver may light a cigar by inserting its end in the shielding cup, 9, and producing a draft through it while its end is in contact with the igniter 10, in the customary manner, all

without the necessity for removing either that Fig. 3 is added to the drawing.

In the foregoing description electrical appliances have been described for bringing about all of the several operations, but I believe myself to be the first to provide a cigar lighter having means adapted to so operate as to accomplish the several objects at which the invention aims, regardless of the details of construction or of the character of the mechanism, whether mechanical or electrical either in whole or in part. I therefore desire to have it understood that I reserve to myself the exclusive right to use any or all of the several features of novelty that are herein described in any manner and in any situdation in which they may be found to be use It will be observed that the means above described and shown in the drawing for moving the igniter in position for convenient use amounts to a series of solenoids which arasucizessively energized, but it is manifest that excepting where the extent of movement of the igniter carrier or other practical connections make it impracticable, the solenoid mayhave only a single coil..

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cigar lighter having, in combination, an igniter having the property of being raised to incandescence by the action of the current of electricity passing" through it, a movable carrier therefor, electromagnetic means for projecting the carrier to bring the igniter into position for convenient use and means for guiding the carrier in its movements.

2. A cigar lighter having, in combination, an igniter, a movable carrier therefor, and a solenoid for projecting the carrier to bring the igniter into position for convenient use.

3. A cigar lighter having, in combination, an igniter having the property of being raised to incandescence by the action of a current of electricity passing through it, a movable carrier for said igniter, a solenoid arranged in operative relation to the carrier for projecting it to bring the igniter into position for convenient use, an open circuit including the coil of the solenoid and the igniter and a push button having contacts also included'in said circuit and adapted to close it and thereby simultaneously cause 1 the current to excite the solenoid and the igniter.

4. A. cigar lighter having, in combination, an igniter made of material of low electric conductivity adapted when electrically excited to become incandescent, a movable carrier for the igniter, electromagnetic means for moving said carrier to bring the igniter 7 into position for convenient use, and means for guiding the carrier in A cigar lighter having, in combination, an igniter having the property of being raised to incandescence by the actionof the current of electricity passing through it, a mm'able carrier therefor having a longitudinally movable stem, a tube into which said stem projects and is movable endwise and electromagnetic means for moving the stem endwise to project it beyond the end of the its movements.

tube and carry the igniter' into position for convenient use.

6. A cigar lighter having in combination, an igniter having the property of: being raised to incandescence by the action of the current of electricity passing through it, a carrier therefor" having a longitudinally movable stem, an upright tube into the 111555 endwai *hich said stem projects With alonsefitso that it is freely movable there-' in endwise, and means for moving the stem upward to project it from the upper end of the tube and carry the igniter" into position for convenient use, the stem being free to recede into the tube by the action of gravity.

MARTIN C. SCHWAB.

l/Vitnesses 2 E. V. STACK, L. M. HOPKINS. 

